United States reaches a settlement with Keane regarding federal student financial aid fraud and false statements.

PHILADELPHIA - Acting Assistant United States Attorney Laurie Magid today announced
that the government has reached a settlement with Lisa Ann Keane, of Philadelphia,
to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act regarding federal student
loans. Keane will pay the United States $62,000 to resolve allegations that
she falsified federal student financial aid applications in order to obtain
college financial aid from the Department of Education ("DOE") for the benefit
of her sons.

The Higher Education Act authorizes the United States to offer student financial
assistance, including Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants,
and subsidized Perkins Loans and Stafford Loans. These programs are administered
by DOE and provide federal monies to eligible post-secondary students in financial
need. Eligibility is based on an evaluation of income. If a student has been
supported by his or her parents in the previous year, then the student is considered
a dependent student and both parents' income for the previous year is used to
determine financial need.

"The positive results achieved through this case, and cases like this one,
will help to send a message," said Magid. "The government is serious about protecting
the sanctity of the federal student financial assistance programs for those
individuals who are in true need of financial assistance."

According to the allegations in the Complaint filed today, during the school
years 1998 through 2003, Lisa Ann Keane fraudulently omitted her husband's income
in the federal student financial aid applications she filed on behalf of her
sons, thus, qualifying her sons for federal student financial aid to which they
were not entitled.

This case was investigated by Agent Geoff Wood of DOE's Office of Inspector
General and was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline Romero
and Virginia Powell.